By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FAIRFIELD - In a few months, you won't have to drive all the way to central Indiana to service that RV - or to buy one.

The largest recreational vehicle dealer in the United States is opening a satellite dealership in this Butler County city, one block north of Jungle Jim's International Market on Ohio 4.

Tom Raper RVs of Richmond, Ind., will lease the old 55,000 square-foot Furrow building on six acres that Jungle owner Jim Bonaminio bought last year, both companies said Friday.

The company's main store opened in Richmond, Ind., 39 years ago and, like Jungle Jim's, started small and grew into a business with more than 50,000 customers across the world.

The RV supplier now wants to provide a sales and maintenance location closer for Tristate customers. This is the company's first venture outside Richmond; the dealership should be open in late December or January, said Dave Bane, owner of Tom Raper, Inc.

"We see Cincinnati as an excellent market," said Bane, a former resident of both Madeira and Fairfield. "Even though we are America's number one RV dealer, it is very hard to get to us from Cincinnati."

From Fairfield, it's 75 miles to Richmond, Ind. The new facility will employ 40 workers and have a stock of 300 to 500 RVs, Bane said. By comparison, the main Indiana lot has 250 employees and more than 1,000 RVs.

Tom Raper RV and Jungle Jim's already are planning cross promotions: an RV will sit on Jungle Jim's property for the more than 50,000 shoppers a week who visit the store to tour; Raper will provide golf carts to customers so they can shop at Jungle Jim's while their RVs are being serviced and Bonaminio may eventually extend a monorail he plans to start later this year at the store over to Raper's.

"We are going to play off each other," Bonaminio said. "This is going to be great for Fairfield and Jungle Jim's. And it's good for Route 4. It's going to bring a ton of people over here."

The recreational vehicle dealership joins several car and boat dealerships already dotting Ohio 4, one of the area's most heavily traveled roads linking Hamilton County to Butler County.

Fairfield City Councilman Mark Scharringhausen was pleasantly surprised Friday, calling the development a "phenomenal" shot in city's economic arm.

Ohio 4 has seen dwindling business in some areas over the previous years, especially as it creeps closer to the City of Hamilton.

Earlier this year, Fairfield City Council iced plans to revitalize the aging strip's appearance after many Ohio 4 merchants balked.

"Can you imagine the out-of-town traffic that that would bring to Fairfield? Talk about making Route 4 a destiny location," Scharringhausen said.

E-mail: jedwards@enquirer.com.